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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. rash — hasty
  9. pop — to visit
  10. rash — a series
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pop — soda
  14. bear — the animal
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. pop — music
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. band — a ring
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bear — the animal
  21. band — a music group
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. rash — on the skin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com